The Two-Faced Turnabout
by KoopaSensei
Summary: In the aftermath of an explosive breakout scheme at Arkham Asylum, Harvey Dent will stand trial for second degree murder, and this time the stakes are larger than ever before for the insane criminal. Luckily for him, Athena Cykes has taken his case, and flown out to Gotham to try and solve the crime!
1. Prologue, Part 1

It was another boring Thursday at the Wright Anything Agency. It had been several months since their last big trial, where Athena was proven innocent. Since then, it had been very slow for the office. Trucy had been making enough money through shows that she made sure they didn't have to dive too deep into their savings to pay rent, but that wasn't the cause for their low spirits. Their ailment was the doldrums of life between cases. It was fortuitous, then, that they were all in the office and conscious when the phone rang.

"I've got it!" Apollo and Athena both yelled simultaneously, but sadly for their antenna-haired attorney, Athena was standing within arm's reach of the receiver. She lifted to her ear and said, "Wright Anything Agency, the best place for bar shows, children's birthday parties, and criminal defense."

"Is this Athena Cykes?" a man with a resonate, baritone voice responded. The man sounded like he was trying to appear nonchalant and conversational, but he wasn't succeeding very well.

Athena was more than a little surprised at that. Nearly every call the office got were for Trucy, and the few that weren't were wrong numbers. "Yes, this is Athena speaking."

There was a short pause before the caller continued. "I have a case I'd like you to handle. If it's okay with you, I'd like to pay half of the money beforehand and the other half if you've successfully defended your client in court."

Well that certainly was…mysterious of him. "And how much will you be paying?"

"Two hundred thousand dollars."

Athena stood there, her mouth hanging agape. Then she regained her senses, and realized how unprofessional it was to just stop talking after a potential client offers you several times more money than you've ever had in a bank account in your life. "Yes, I, uh, yes that's okay with us. Who is in need of my defense?"

The man on the other end sighed. "I'd prefer not to tell you yet. Let's just say that I'm confident he's innocent, and being framed." Athena could hear the man's emotions even through the phone. He was incredibly stressed and afraid for someone. He was telling the truth when he said that he thought the defendant was innocent. She heard something else, a low thrum of sadness that underplayed everything else.

She didn't have to think too hard about her response. "I'll take the case, Mr…?"

He actually laughed at that. "Oh, you'll find out who I am soon enough. Please indulge my sense of drama, Ms. Cykes." The warmth emptied from his voice after that. "The trial is in two days. I've already paid for you and an assistant's boarding on a plane. It leaves for Gotham City tonight at 8pm. Have a nice flight." And with that he hung up.

"Who was that?" Phoenix Wright asked from the next room over. He was at the desk in his room, where he'd been most of that day, where he was most days: at his laptop.

Apollo turned towards the office. "It was a client!" he yelled at his boss. "Athena's got a case!" At that, Phoenix came running into the main room, obviously expecting someone to explain the news to him.

"Uh, well," Athena said, then coughed awkwardly. "There's someone who needs defending in Gotham City, and for some reason he wanted me. He paid for our plane ride over there. We're getting two hundred thousand dollars for the case."

The two men reacted as you'd expect someone would react to being told that they were receiving that kind of money. Apollo nearly fell over in shock, while Phoenix looked like he'd taken a blow to the head. Once the idea of that much money going to their dinky little office finally settled, Apollo and Phoenix were all smiles. "Oh man, we'd better pack then!"

Athena really wished she didn't have to spoil their mood, but…"Apparently, our client only paid for me and an 'assistant' to be flown over. If we all go, we'll have to pay that expense out of pocket."

The words fell into the air with a sudden weight. They knew they couldn't really afford flying another person to Gotham, not really. The city was about as far away as you could get while still being in the States. Apollo and Phoenix faced each other, their faces dead serious. Each man raised a fist, knocked into the air three times, and revealed their move. Apollo has chosen Rock, to counter his bosses Scissors. To his horror, a piece sign was not his opponents move, but a flat palm. Paper. Apollo hung his head in defeat. "I'll stay here while you're both gone, to keep an eye on Trucy. I'll be sure to keep the office clean."

"Wow, that's so mature Apollo! I hope I can accept defeat so gracefully in the future!" Athena said, clasping a hand on her coworker's shoulder. "I'm sure next time a rich client calls, they'll ask for you!"

A few hours later, Phoenix and Athena were all packed and ready after repeated trips to their apartments and back. They said goodbye to Apollo, who was trying his best to seem cheerful. Their cab arrived, and after a random search of Mr. Wright by airport security, they were on their plane and headed off towards the east. Towards Gotham City.


	2. Prologue, Part 2

There was a smile on Athena's face as she and her employer left the airport. "I forgot how much I love flying! All that time for yourself!" She had spent the evening taking naps and reading intermittently. The famed defense attorney Phoenix Wright was struggling not to show weakness in front of his protégé. He tried displaying the calmer, more confident mask he'd been using in the last several years, and he'd refrained from talking, knowing his student's ability to hear people's emotions would give him away immediately. Really, Phoenix was just glad he hadn't thrown up on the plane for once. Athena shivered visably, and asked, "I can't believe how cold it is here! Mein got, I had just started getting acclimatized to LA's weather, and now it feels like I'm back in Europe."

At that, Phoenix just shrugged. "Ever since that case I had on Hazakuru Mountain, I've actually been a lot better at resisting harsh weather. Nothing really compares to the winters in that snowy temple."

Athena put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Hazakura Mountain, huh? I can't remember which of your cases took place there. Want to tell me about it?"

A brief flash of memories stunned Phoenix for a second, but he shrugged it off and kept walking forward. "Maybe someday, Athena." He paused midstep, then strained his eyes to see out into the foggy darkness outside the airport, into the street. "Is that a limo?"

"Maybe that's our client!" Athena said before running out into the dark. Phoenix sighed and ran after her, arriving only seconds behind at the rearmost doors of the limo. Athena walked up to the driver side and knocked on the tinted window. "Hello, this is the Wright Anything Agency, are you the one who hired us?"

To Phoenix's surprise the window rolled down, and inside was the most stereotypical butler he'd ever seen. From his balding head, to his thin moustache, to his suit the man screamed 'butler'. He looked up to meet Athena's gaze. "Ms. Cykes? Yes, you look like the picture my master gave me. Please, would you get into the backseat? I've been told to drive you to the police department, so you can meet with your client." Phoenix didn't say anything: Athena was in charge of their defense this time, so he'd let her call the shots.

When Athena realized that Phoenix was waiting for her to speak, she smiled and replied with, "Really? Wouldn't it make more sense to talk with your master before going all the way to the detention center?"

"My orders were to take you there, ma'am. I wouldn't like to impose myself into the thoughts of my employer, but I don't think I'm overstepping by bounds to speculate that he wants you to see the case for yourself first." The man looked up into Athena's eyes and seemed completely unfasable in that instant. "I'd prefer it if you and your assistant entered the car now, ma'am. It's nearly three in the morning, and while your potential client is going anywhere I do feel as though we should hurry."

The two attorneys entered the limo, and the car started off into the night. Athena's eyes were glued to the window: even in the darkness she could see bits and pieces of Gotham fly by as the man drove. She'd never visited Gotham in all her glove-hopping, but she had always wanted to. The city had such a rich history, especially psychologically. Hundreds of psychologists had made their name trying and failing to analyze the many super-criminals of the city. Was that why she was here?

Phoenix, meanwhile, was looking around the car. It was immaculate, to the point where he honestly doubted the idea that the limo had ever been used before. That left several options for who was its owner, but he'd need more than that to prove anything.

The driver had been silent the entire time, only speaking up to tell them, "We are here." A quick look outside confirmed to Phoenix that they were indeed outside one of the many police departments in the city. They stepped outside, and once again the driver rolled down his window. "I'll be waiting out in the car for you to return. Just tell the desk sergeant your name and he'll take you to your client." Athena nodded and headed towards the large oak doors of the precinct, her stride purposeful. She hadn't told her friends, but she'd felt a little underappreciated at the office. She'd only had one case where she was the lead attorney, but Athena's power had been used in nearly every trial since she'd been hired. Now it was her time to shine!

Athena pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside, her boss following not far behind. Inside was a cramped room filled with many people, all of the either a cop or a person in handcuffs. Directly in front of them was a desk, a tired looking officer sitting behind it. They waited for a break in the people coming up to the man and ran up to see him. "Hello, my name is Athena Cykes, I'm an attorney with—"

"I know who you are," the officer said with a yawn. "Go in the door to your right, and then on for about thirty yards before you see a door on your left marked 'Visiting Area', your client should be there. Have a nice day." The officer said those last words with none of the cheer they implied, but considering what she'd heard about Gotham, she wasn't surprised. It wasn't exactly known for its cheer or its friendly police. She opened the door he'd pointed to and the two attorneys walked down the corridor in silence, the dim lighting and rustic décor sobering the mood. Gotham was an old city, and the police station hadn't been updated in at least half a century, maybe more.

They came across the sign they'd been told about, and went in its accompanying door. Inside was a visiting room very similar to the one in the LA Detention Center they had been to many times before. They walked over to the only booth, Athena catching sight of their client from the first time. She approached him from the person's right, and saw that it was a man wearing an orange jumpsuit typical to prisoners. Had he already been incarcerated for something? The client had dark brown hair, styled so that it stayed combed back. His face looked hard, weathered, despite the fact he didn't appear to be much older than Mr. Wright. But still, there was something that unsettled Athena by his appearance. He looked a little familiar, and there was something _off_. Something she couldn't quite place.

"**Why did you want to see me?**" came a rumbling basso voice from behind the glass. It was confident, sure in a way Athena had never really heard before. It was also…empty. It wasn't exactly emotionless like the Phantom's, but she couldn't read anything from him anyway. He turned towards them, and both attorneys stopped dead in their tracks.

His face was divided into two nearly equal halves. The right side, the one she'd seen, was that of a normal man. The left half was something out of a nightmare. His smooth, pale skin had been burned into dark scar tissue. His mouth was gouged and gnarled, baring his teeth to the world regardless of his expression. His hair on that side was nearly white and unkempt, almost as if it hadn't seen a brush in years. His left eye had no pupil, and Athena doubted he could see out of it.

Athena steeled herself, and walked over to sit in the chair, facing the man head-on. She heard Mr. Wright walk over to stand behind her, but she didn't let her gaze wander. This man required all of her attention. She tried putting on a smile that didn't seem as false as it felt, and replied to his question. "Hello, Mr. Dent, my name is Athena Cykes. I'm an attorney from Los Angeles, someone paid for me to come out here and take your case." It seemed as though a spark of interest was lit in his right eye, so Athena continued, "Could you answer some questions about your case?"

There was a pause, and the man looked down at the desk in front of him and picked up a silver dollar that had been lying there. He flipped it, looked at the result, and nodded. "**Heads. Ask your questions, Ms. Cykes.**"

Well, apparently that part of the myth was true. Any chance of him answering their questions was 50/50. Great. Athena steeled herself, and thought of what to ask first. "Well, then, let's start with the simple. What crime are they accusing of?"

Another flip, another nod. "**I've been accused of murdering Michael Rod, the head of security at Arkham Asylum.**"

Of course it was another murder case, Athena thought. It was rare for them to take any other kind of case. Alright then, time for another question. "How did Mr. Rod die?"

The man flipped his coin again, but this time he shook his head. "**Tails. Next question.**"

Athena wanted to slam her hands on the desk, punch the glass, maybe kick over the chair…anything to vent her frustration. This wasn't turning out well. She sighed and resolved to just hope for better luck next time. Now it was time for the big question. "Mr. Dent, did you do it? Did you kill that man?"

The tension in the room was thick as Mr. Dent flipped his coin; every eye followed the path of the metal as it flipped several times in the air, and fell to rest in his hand. He looked down at the result and nodded. Athena wanted to jump in the air in happiness, that was probably the most important question that needed answering. "**Heads. I didn't kill Michael Rod, or anyone else that night.**"

The relief in the visiting room was almost palpable; Mr. Wright actually let out an audible sigh. Athena was busy straining her ears, trying to analyze Mr. Dent's voice as best she could. She could pick out some emotions now: frustration, anger, sadness, and a thick underlying sense of resignation. But more than that it was clear to her that he had told her the truth, at least as far as he believed it. Still a little unsettled at that thought, and asked something else. "Well, if you didn't do it, do you have any clue who it was that did?"

Another flipped coin…and another shake of the head. "**Tails. Ask something else.**"

"What?!" Athena asked. "What does that mean?! If you know anything about who did it, you have to tell me! I'm here to help you, Mr. Dent!"

"**No.**" The man shook his head, his face still nonplussed despite her emotional outburst. "**Fate decided.**" Then, he paused for a second before asking something. "**Why do you keep referring to me as Mr. Dent?**"

The question surprised Athena. "Well, I'm not going to call you Two Face. You're Harvey Dent. Just because you have a mental disorder doesn't mean you're someone else." Silence.

"Athena, we better get going, it's getting late. We can talk with him more tomorrow," Phoenix said, looking towards the door. She sighed, but stood up anyway. Her boss had a point, and she was starting to run out of fumes.

They both started walking towards the exit, but were stopped by Harvey. "**Wait.**" Athena stopped mid-stride, waiting for him to continue. "**You're free to represent me in court, Ms. Cykes.**" With that, the attorneys exited the building and got inside the limo. Athena was ready to talk to their mystery caller: she had a client to protect.


End file.
